If you’re like most pet sitters, your clients ask you quite a few questions about all sorts of pet topics. You might get questions like:
- How can I teach my dog not to jump on people?
- What’s the best pet food for my older cat?
- Do you know of a good groomer in town?
- My cat doesn’t want to use the litterbox anymore. What should I do?
- How can I keep my dog calm during thunderstorms?
You can either say you don’t know, try your best to answer them, or go a little farther and find out where they’re likely to find a solid answer to their question. Going the extra mile, and becoming the go-to person for a myriad of pet questions can actually be a great marketing tool.
As a professional in the pet industry, your clients look at you as a resource. Some of them may even have the idea their pet sitter knows just about everything there is to know about pets! And even though that’s not the case, you can certainly make yourself into the best resource they’ll ever have. The idea isn’t to become the expert with all the answers.
You want to become the expert who knows where to find the answers.
Learn as much as you can about where to find the answers to your clients’ pet questions, so you can point them in the right direction. Here’s how to do just that:
Know your local brick & mortar pet businesses
Undoubtedly your clients will ask you to recommend businesses like pet supply stores, doggie bakeries, do-it-yourself dog washes, and more. Take time to visit as many of these places as possible so you can get an idea of what they’re like, how friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful the staff is. You’ll also want to get an idea of the types of products they offer, location, etc.
Know where to take pets for fun
Give your clients a list of local dog parks, pet meet-up groups, pet-friendly restaurants, etc. A nicely formatted list like this, on heavy card stock (maybe even laminated) with your contact info on it is a nice welcome gift for new clients.
Keep tabs on local pet events
Keep a list of upcoming pet events on your website or Facebook business page. Include adoption days, pet festivals, cat and dog shows, free vaccination clinics, dog meetups, and more.
Get to know local pet professionals
When your clients ask you for a referral to veterinarians, groomers, dog trainers, animal communicators, pet photographers, and others, you’ll want to refer them to someone you know will treat them right. To do this, you’ll need to get to know as many of these people as possible. Learn something about them and their services and if they excel in a particular area. For example, if your client with the Persian cat needs a groomer, and you send her to someone who specializes in cats, you’ll score big on that one!
Know where to go for health and behavior issues
A lot of times pet sitters are the first ones a pet owner will ask about their pets’ health issues. It’s not a good idea to give medical advice, but you might want to refer them to reputable resources in addition to referring them to their veterinarian. Learn about websites, books, foundations etc. that deal with a wide variety of pet health issues so you can give your client a good resource for the problem they’re facing with their pet.
What you’ll see happen is that your clients will think you know everything about pets. And, even though that’s not really the case, the fact that you know where to find the answers will make you their expert. They’ll call you when they need something, but they’ll also tell all of their pet friends about their wonderful pet sitter who found them a great dog trainer, helped with their cat’s health problem, recommended the best veterinarian, and more!